Hello! I’m an long time ‘Mudder but I’ve never ventured into the world of 40’s before, so I figure an introduction is needed. When I joined TLCA and ‘Mud, I had just bought a ’97 FZJ80 that was built and beat over the course of my ownership. Due to financial issues, the poor thing got neglected to the point where I needed to do a complete rebuild to keep it safe for my growing family. I had also discovered that it would never be good at what I wanted it to do: rock crawling. The farther I built it, the more limitations it showed and it became worse at what 80’s are so good at. It was time to let my baby go.
This is one of the last pics of “Jillian”. You can find her build thread here: The Rebirth of Jillian
Luckily, a good friend of mine was starting to build up an 80 and wanted a lot of the parts Jillian had. He also had a well-built ’84 Toy p/u that he was willing to trade. I have to say, this little truck is amazing and instantly won my heart. The only problem was the small cab. My daughter is getting older (will be 4 next month) and I want to start taking her along on my adventures. I knew the ownership of this truck would be short as I needed a family wheeler but it was so much fun!
Here is a shot of the mini, just for reference. If you are interested, here is the thread on her: Project Turn-Key
I decided that the perfect family wheeler for me would be an FJ40. I have always wanted one but never pulled the trigger. I thought it would be a great idea to buy a shell and build it up while I could wheel the mini in the meantime. I got a great deal on an abandoned project: a 1971 FJ40. I bought it sight-unseen with the grand illusions of what it could be. I could build it exactly how I wanted! My wife and I took a weekend to get it and I started making a plan… Then I made the mistake of trying to figure out the cost of my plan. And how much time it would take. I came to the realization that I wanted my daughter wheeling with me now and not when she was a teenager! My plan wasn’t going to work…
Pic of the ’71 getting strapped down for the ride home:
I was discussing the plans and getting ideas on my club forum when an inactive member got ahold of me. He had a 5/73 FJ40 that he built up and parked. The last time it was used was 3 years ago and hadn’t seen it for at least 5. However, the set-up was a lot like I had planned: 1F, SM465, 205 doubler, 3-spd case, 5.29’s, lockers, Saganaw PS, SOA, stretched WB, etc. What made it better is he would be willing to trade for my mini-truck… I was intrigued. We finally got a chance to get together and check out the trucks. There was a lot of good stuff on the 40 and a lot of things I would like to change. However, the price was right and it came with a long box full of parts!
Here are pics from the PO. This was the last time the 40 was on the trail:
And some of the trade:
Due to the 40 being stored for so long and a lot of half-done projects, it will take a while before it is on the trail. However, everything works. It just needs to be dialed in… I need to start by organizing the parts that came with it so I can get it into the garage and then start tweaking what is there.
Like I said before, I am very new to 40’s and I would appreciate any advice that you can give. This obviously isn’t going to be a restoration, but something as capable as I can get it on the rocks and trails while being safe for my family and staying street legal. I’m not going to put this in hardcore because that is not the goal. I will be sticking with old school tech and the KISS philosophy…
This is one of the last pics of “Jillian”. You can find her build thread here: The Rebirth of Jillian
Luckily, a good friend of mine was starting to build up an 80 and wanted a lot of the parts Jillian had. He also had a well-built ’84 Toy p/u that he was willing to trade. I have to say, this little truck is amazing and instantly won my heart. The only problem was the small cab. My daughter is getting older (will be 4 next month) and I want to start taking her along on my adventures. I knew the ownership of this truck would be short as I needed a family wheeler but it was so much fun!
Here is a shot of the mini, just for reference. If you are interested, here is the thread on her: Project Turn-Key
I decided that the perfect family wheeler for me would be an FJ40. I have always wanted one but never pulled the trigger. I thought it would be a great idea to buy a shell and build it up while I could wheel the mini in the meantime. I got a great deal on an abandoned project: a 1971 FJ40. I bought it sight-unseen with the grand illusions of what it could be. I could build it exactly how I wanted! My wife and I took a weekend to get it and I started making a plan… Then I made the mistake of trying to figure out the cost of my plan. And how much time it would take. I came to the realization that I wanted my daughter wheeling with me now and not when she was a teenager! My plan wasn’t going to work…
Pic of the ’71 getting strapped down for the ride home:
I was discussing the plans and getting ideas on my club forum when an inactive member got ahold of me. He had a 5/73 FJ40 that he built up and parked. The last time it was used was 3 years ago and hadn’t seen it for at least 5. However, the set-up was a lot like I had planned: 1F, SM465, 205 doubler, 3-spd case, 5.29’s, lockers, Saganaw PS, SOA, stretched WB, etc. What made it better is he would be willing to trade for my mini-truck… I was intrigued. We finally got a chance to get together and check out the trucks. There was a lot of good stuff on the 40 and a lot of things I would like to change. However, the price was right and it came with a long box full of parts!
Here are pics from the PO. This was the last time the 40 was on the trail:
And some of the trade:
Due to the 40 being stored for so long and a lot of half-done projects, it will take a while before it is on the trail. However, everything works. It just needs to be dialed in… I need to start by organizing the parts that came with it so I can get it into the garage and then start tweaking what is there.
Like I said before, I am very new to 40’s and I would appreciate any advice that you can give. This obviously isn’t going to be a restoration, but something as capable as I can get it on the rocks and trails while being safe for my family and staying street legal. I’m not going to put this in hardcore because that is not the goal. I will be sticking with old school tech and the KISS philosophy…
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happy in the fall...
